Author | Lightnews

Melea Press (she/her)

@meleapress.bsky.social

91 followers 140 following 51 posts

Double Activist: (1) to improve lives for neurodiverse families (2) to increase impact from academic research. Using my privilege to bring Unheard Voices into the light. #GhostParent #Impact #Autism #PDA #Academia #DoBetter #UndauntedTogether

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Reposted by Melea Press (she/her)

Megan Piontkowski illustration @meganpiont.bsky.social · 15d

I was commissioned to make a zine for the No Kings 2 protest on Saturday Oct 18th!

If you wonder “what can I do?” this zine is for you. It’s packed with things that you can do from wearing a “no ICE” pin to organizing a visibility brigade with your friends.

drive.google.com/file/d/1TJnH...

Hand holding a black and white illustrated zine of two people holding signs that say “we marched! Now what?”

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Aug 30

When your friend gives you the gift of a snuggle visit! So much awwwww!!!!

Tiny adorable tabby kitten with closed eyes snuggled in the arm crook of a female wearing a bright green hoodie.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Aug 14

Glasgow penguins with sunflower tree

Tiny clay penguins looking at a giant clay sunflower.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · May 22

Lost frog in the sunshine

Green wooden frog toy on a picnic table. Trees in the background and blue sky.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · May 14

Sometimes you need to say it as it is.

A grey dumpster with “trash” spray painted on it in white. It is next to another dumpster and in the background you can see a building with reflective glass, a low wall and a street.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · May 12

Meta-Glasgow. A sticker of a photo of some people hoisting a traffic cone onto THE statue.

Sticker of a black and white photo with an orange traffic cone. People are hoisting the cone onto the head of a statue of a guy on a horse. Stick to a grey metal slab.

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · May 10

Beautiful day in Glasgow!

Pride flag painted across a pedestrian mall and bicycle track. Mural on the building behind and a people sitting at a sidewalk cafe. Very sunny day. Blue sky no clouds.

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · May 3

Some days require asking…

Black bricked up door inside a stone wall. Speech bubble painted on brick says “why me?”

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 30

Helllllooooooo!!

Eyeballs painted on the shuttered windows of an old building.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 25

We need to preserve academic integrity, which, as it turns out, it closely linked with judicial integrity and due process. If it can happen to one person, it can happen to anyone.

Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · Apr 25

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 22

@markhamillofficial.bsky.social

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 21

Our local signs have transformed!

Sign used to show distance to local places in minutes, by bike and by foot. It now shows distance by x-wing and meteor
Kessel → 20 parsecs /12 parsecs
Tatooine 52 parsecs / 30 parsecs
Endor 64 parsecs /48 parsecs
Dagobah = 200 parsecs /140 parsecs

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 21

Food for thought about identities that don’t fit in the box.

AuDHDeepdive 😁a n t i f a @audhdeepdive.bsky.social · Apr 21

Neurodivergent Identity Arcs
open.substack.com/pub/neurodiv...

Neurodivergent Identity Arcs

From Immersion to Integration — and Why It Matters for Collective Care

open.substack.com

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 20

When you are constantly under scrutiny, even small mistakes are blown up into catastrophes and life feels (and is) unsafe. The cascade of stress and mental health decline is inevitable. We must acknowledge the privilege of having space to try things out.

Celeste Ng @pronounced-ing.bsky.social · Apr 19

Your periodic reminder that one way to think about privilege is: who's allowed to make mistakes?

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 18

Potato painted like a superhero, perched on a metal fence.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 15

Small gummy candy pizza in a small pizza box with a clear window that shows the candy pizza.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 14

Close up of part of graffiti art. A red background w a light blue square. In the center is a small red square. Black lines outline a square in the middle and draw many connecting lines to the small square inside.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 14

How do you think the mental health crisis in young people would be affected if adults listened closely to children about their desires, fears, and support needs - and acted?!
#safety #GhostParents #autistic #PDA

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 12

Tiny penguins in a small cave holding anti-tariff signs

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Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Apr 10

There are 1000s of parents in the UK right now being blamed, shamed, and gaslighted because they are trying to save their likely neurodivergent children from trauma and burnout from school. Some parents face fines and threats of jail, others are just ignored. No one blames the schooling system.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Mar 31

It was not without some irony that I delivered a Psychological Safety workshop last week. I am American, living in the UK. I don't know how anyone can feel safe right now. ...and, I see the value of being present with our colleagues, friends, and family. #Safety #Neuroconvergence #EQ

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Mar 30

Rescinding Scientific Integrity Policies because they do not align with political goals is dangerous for everyone -- for every citizen across the globe whose life has been touched by academic 'evidence-based' research (i.e., everyone). This is a disgrace.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

NOT-OD-25-080: Rescission of the Final Scientific Integrity Policy of the National Institutes of Health

NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Rescission of the Final Scientific Integrity Policy of the National Institutes of Health NOT-OD-25-080. OD

grants.nih.gov

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Mar 27

Sorry. Fixed. Her book The Family Experience of PDA literally changed my life. I’m in UK too.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Mar 27

Today I got to lead a psychological safety workshop for over 100 people. It’s a wonderful way to demonstrate that everyone has unique needs. This is #neuroconvergence.

Melea Press (she/her) @meleapress.bsky.social · Mar 27

The PDA society UK and PDA Society North America have a lot of great info, which you can share with the school. But honestly, PDA is not well understood. Sharing information never helped my family. An estimated 85% of PDA kids cannot attend school. And Parent Blame is rampant.